Though Megan Fox is idolized as a beauty — a sex symbol even — the “Transformers” actress recently opened up about her body dysmorphia.Fox is one of the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girls, and she got real in an interview for the magazine.”I don’t ever see myself really the way other people see me,” Fox told Sports Illustrated.

There is never a point in my life where I loved my body. Never, ever. When I was little, that was like an obsession I had, that I should look this way.The journey of loving myself is going to be never-ending, I think.”Fox’s candid comments spurred an online discussion about body dysmorphia and how it can impact even those who are thought to be the most conventionally attractive.

The truth is, body dysmorphia has nothing to do with how someone looks, but everything to do with how they see and feel about themselves.Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is the technical term used by mental health professionals to describe body dysmorphia.It is a condition in which people worry or obsess about a perceived flaw in their appearance, according to chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General Brigham Dr. Scott Hadland. These perceived flaws can be related to any physical features.

Hadland told Yahoo Canada the mental illness can affect anyone, “regardless of how they look or what others think of them.”Our society puts enormous pressure on people to look a certain way, and celebrities in the limelight likely feel this pressure more than many other people,” he said.”So even someone who seems to match society’s unrealistic ideals can develop BDD if they have developed a negative view of their body, even if it doesn’t seem to match up to reality.